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Italy’s 2024 Crime Reports Rise, Driven by Street Offences in Big Cities

The pattern reflects post‑pandemic shifts alongside urban density, prompting calls for tougher policing plus preventive programs.

Overview

  • Police data show 2.38 million offences reported in 2024, up 1.7% from 2023 and 3.4% versus 2019, yet still about 15% below 2014 levels.
  • Street‑level offences led the increase: thefts exceeded one million cases (44% of reports) with rises in home break‑ins, car thefts and snatchings, alongside growth in robberies (+1.8%), drug crimes (+3.9%) and sexual violence (+7.5%).
  • Nearly half of all 2024 crimes occurred in the 14 metropolitan areas (47.9%), with Milan, Rome and Florence accounting for 23.5% of incidents and roughly one in five reports in Milan and Rome alone.
  • The offender profile shifted: 38,247 minors were reported, detained or arrested (+16% year on year; about +30% vs 2019), while foreign nationals comprised 34.7% of all suspects and exceeded 60% for certain predatory crimes.
  • Preliminary Interior Ministry figures indicate reported crimes fell 4.9% in the first half of 2025 versus the same period in 2024, a tentative slowdown that requires further disaggregation to assess durability.